The present invention relates to an applicator adapted to be inserted into a body opening for various medical purposes, e.g. for medical treatment or medical diagnosis. The invention is particularly useful as a heating applicator for insertion through the anus into the rectum of a patient for use in hyperthermia treatments, and is therefore described below with respect to this application.
The applicator of the present invention is particularly useful with the catheter and probe described in our Companion Application No. 07/046,193 filed the same date as this Application.
Hyperthermia is a recognized technique for rendering certain therapeutic treatments to a patient by the application of heat to the portion of the patient's body to be treated. A large number of applicators have been developed for treating cancer, or for other therapeutic purposes such as the treatment of hemorrhoids, as described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,375,220, 4,312,364, 4,311,154, 4,227,535, 4,186,729, 4,154,246, 4,140,130, 4,016,886, 2,043,083, 2,032,859 and 1,433,286.
An object of the present invention is to provide an applicator for insertion into a body opening for purposes of performing a medical treatment or a medical diagnosis. Another object of the invention is to provide an applicator particularly useful for a hyperthermia treatment. Further objects of the invention are to provide a disposable sleeve, and also a microwave antenna, particularly useful with the above-mentioned applicator.